There’s no better way to start a new NFL season than with a win, and a 19-point victory – be it against the lowly Cleveland Browns – is still a tremendous beginning to a new era. Head coach Doug Pederson is 1-0, and rookie quarterback Carson Wentz showed flashes of brilliance. The Philadelphia Eagles have an extra day before they take on the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. For now, here are five key takeaways from the Eagles’ 29-10 win.
1. Carson Wentz looks like the real deal.
How good did Carson Wentz look today? Two weeks ago, he was slated to be the No. 3 quarterback and a yearly game day inactive behind Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel. Now, he’s the starting quarterback and looking like the franchise signal-caller GM Howie Roseman hoped he could be when he traded up to the second overall pick to acquire him.
Wentz’s first NFL drive culminated with a touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews, and this was an absolute dime of a throw. Wentz found last year’s first-round bust Nelson Agholor for a 35-yard score in the third quarter. He spread the ball around to six different receivers, didn’t turn the ball over once, and absorbed just two sacks for eight total yards.
Wentz averaged 7.5 yards per attempt on 37 passes. He posted a passer rating of 101.0. He converted a fourth-and-4 near midfield. He looked extremely comfortable under center, commanding the Eagles’ offense like a ten-year veteran. You want an amazing stat?
Number of games with 30+ attempts, 7.5 YPA, 2 TD passes, no INT, and a 100 passer rating:
Sam Bradford: 1
Carson Wentz: 1
Bradford has started 63 NFL games. Wentz has started one.
In an admittedly small sample size, there’s a lot to like about Wentz.
2. Jordan Matthews produced like a No. 1 receiver.
The days of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin putting up 1,300-yard seasons for this team are in the past. This year’s Philadelphia Eagles have 2014 second-round pick Jordan Matthews, but then a slew of unknowns in last year’s first-round pick, Nelson Agholor; recent trade acquisition, Dorial Green-Beckham; and former Chip Kelly draft pick, Josh Huff. The organization needs Matthews to produce as the top wideout, and through one game, he’s looking like he’s up to the challenge.
Matthews hauled in seven receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown, snagging a beautifully-thrown 28-yard score from Carson Wentz on the game’s opening drive. Matthews did have a pair of drops, which is a problem that plagued him last year. Still, Wentz targeted Matthews 14 times on 37 pass attempts, which suggests Matthews was frequently open. Next week is another winnable matchup for Matthews, as he’s against a Chicago Bears defense that rated 20th in points allowed and 25th in touchdown passes allowed a year ago.
3. Ryan Mathews is a workhorse back when healthy.
Talent has never been an issue for Ryan Mathews; it’s been his ability (or inability) to withstand the injury big. Mathews missed time this summer with an ankle injury, but showed no ill effects of that during Sunday’s 29-10 win. Mathews handled the ball 22 times on the ground, putting up a hard-fought 77 yards and a touchdown. He only averaged 3.5 yards per carry, but considering his longest run of the day was seven yards, it means he consistently gained positive yardage.
4. Time of possession is actually an important stat.
Under Chip Kelly, the Philadelphia Eagles finished last in the league in time of possession every year from 2013 to 2015. Kelly always insisted that time of possession was an insignificant stat, but the result was an Eagles defense that was forced to stay on the field for extended periods of time. Under new head coach Doug Pederson, the Eagles controlled the ball and the clock for nearly two-thirds of the game. There was not a single game during the Kelly era in which the Eagles had the ball for as much as they had it on Sunday (39:20), per Chris Wesseling/NFL Research.
5. The pass rush started out slowly, but then pressured and battered RGIII.
All offseason, we’ve been hearing what the Philadelphia Eagles’ front seven will look like under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who is transitioning from a 3-4 scheme to a more traditional four-man front that will emphasize shooting the gap and getting to the other quarterback. For the first half, the Eagles’ talented defensive line was invisible, but they picked it up in the second half. New $100 million man Fletcher Cox started it out with a sack, then Brandon Graham and Connor Barwin each added one of their own. The Eagles hit RGIII five times in all, recorded five tackles for a loss, and kept Griffin at a shaky 55.0 passer rating. That’s exactly what Philly fans hoped for from Schwartz’s defense.
